Олимпиада по английскому, 8 класс

The last summer before we returned to England was particularly enchanted. For one thing, I was in love for the first time. No one will ever convince me that one cannot be in love at fifteen. I loved then as never since, with all my heart and without doubts or reservations or pretence.

My boyfriend Don worked in Saskatoon, but the lake was ''his place'' – the strange and beautiful wilderness drew him with an obsessive urgency, so I suspected it was not to see me that he got on his motor-cycle as many Fridays as he possibly could, and drove three hundred-odd miles along the pitted prairie roads to spend the weekends at our place.

Sometimes he couldn't come, and the joy would go out of everything until Monday, when I could start looking forward to Friday again. He could never let us know in advance, as we were too far from civilization to have a phone or even a telegraph service. Three hundred miles in those conditions is quite a journey. Besides, Don was hard up, and sometimes worked overtime at weekends.

One Friday night a storm broke out. I lay in bed and listened to the thunder and the rain beating on the roof. Once I got up and stood looking out over the treetops, shivering. I tried not to expect Don that night hoping he would have enough sense to wait until the storm ended. Yet in my frightened thoughts I couldn't help imagining Don fighting the storm. His motorbike, which had always looked to me so heavy and solid, seemed in my thoughts frail enough to be blown onto its side by the first gust that struck it. I thought of Don pinned under it, his face pressed into the mud.

I crawled back into bed, trying to close my throat against the tears. But when my mother, prompted by the deep sympathy and understanding between us, came in to me, she kissed my cheek and found it wet.

"Don't get upset, Jane,'' she said softly. ''He may still come.''

When she had tucked me in and gone, I lay thinking about Don, about the danger of the roads. You couldn't ride or walk along them safely after heavy rain; your feet would slip from under you. The roads in Northern Canada are not like the friendly well-populated English ones, where there are always farmhouses within walking distance and cars driving along them day and night.

It was hours later, that I suddenly realized the sound of the roaring engine was real. The storm was dying.

B 1. Every summer Jane used to spend

A. in the camp

B. by the sea side

C. near the lake

D. in the village

B 2. The last summer was particularly fascinating for Jane because she

A. spent it in the magic surroundings.

B. had a lot of fun in the open air.

C. enjoyed unbelievable sunsets by the lake.

D. fell in love for the first time.

B 3. Jane believes that love at fifteen is

A. a sincere deep feeling.

B. associated with doubts.

C. full of reservations.

D. connected with pretence.

B 4. Don travelled three hundred-odd miles every weekend because he was

A. desperate to see the author before she left.

B. fond of riding his motorcycle.

C. attracted by the beauty of the lake.

D. fond of spending weekends with his friends.

B 5. Sometimes Don didn't come to see Jane and her mother on Friday because he

A. thought they were too far from civilization.

B. had given up hope of seeing the author.

C. worked to make some extra money.

D. hated travelling in exhausting conditions.

B 6. Mother came into Jane's room during the storm because she

A. felt Jane was afraid of the thunder.

B. felt Jane was worried about Don.

C. heard Jane walking in the room.

D. heard Jane crying in her bed.

B 7. According to the author the roads in Northern Canada were

A. slippery.

B. muddy.

C. lonely.

D. busy.

A. I decided to call the police. On tiptoes I went downstairs and dialed 999. The police answered and I explained what had happened. They promised to come at once.

B. I closed the door after him and went upstairs. My daughter was sitting on my bed, trembling. ‘He didn’t believe, did he?’ she asked. ‘No. But I’m sure we’ve frightened the man. He won’t come again.’

C. One night I was alone at home with my little daughter Pat. My husband had gone on a business trip. Pat woke me up in the middle of the night: ‘Mummy, there’s a man outside the house. He was watching me through the window.

D. Soon a police car pulled up in front of the house. I opened the door and let in a young police officer. After listening to my story he went out. Five minutes later he returned. ‘It’s all right,’ he said, ‘the man was only walking his dog, and it ran into your garden.’

E. I went quickly into my daughter’s room and looked out of the window. I could see the dark figure of a man in our garden. Who was he and what was he up to? Why was he looking at our window? Was he going to break in?’

F. ‘And why was he looking at our window?’ I asked the officer. ‘Probably out of curiosity,’ he said. There’s nothing we can do, Madam. It isn’t a crime to walk a dog at night.’

III. Use of English. C

The National Maritime Museum is set in the (1)…….surroundings of Greenwich park. (C 1) BEAUTY

Within the complex of the museum there is a wide (2)…..of objects, displays and (C 2)VARY

paintings. The collections relate to the shipping, astronomy and (3)…… (C 3) NAVIGATE

The museum tells the story of figures of great (4)…..to Britain’s history, (C 4) IMPORTANT

such as Lord Nelson and captain James Cook. Galleries and exhibitions are often

updated to bring back into view (5)…. parts of the huge hidden collections of the (C 5) DIFFER

museum which is (6)….. all over the country. (C 6) FAME

This visit will be an (7)….. experience. (C 7) FORGET

C 8. Russian nature is very beautiful in … winter.

a. a b. the c. –

C 9. … Alaska is one of the states in … USA.

a. –, the b. the, a c. the, the

C 10. They haven’t been at the seaside … 3 years.

a. since b. for c. about

C 11. This book was written … a gifted writer.

a. with b. at c. by

C 12. I haven’t been there … 1995.

a. since b. over c. for

C 13. We were caught … a storm.

a. at b. by c. on

C 14. Are you fond … reading?

a. through b. of c. over

C 15. Is the road busy … night?

a. at b. since c. until

C 16. Nobody gave me a book, …?

a. did they b. did he c. didn’t they

C 17. Let’s go on foot, …?

a. will they b. shall we c. shan’t we

C 18. James said that he … a horse before.

a. never rode b. has never ridden c. had never ridden

C 19. Isaac Newton is … men in the history of science.

a. one of the greatest b. one of greatest c. the greatest one

C 20. He stopped … to answer the phone.

a. write b. writing c. to write

C 21. Nobody will make her … her promise.

a. to break b. breaking c. break

C 22. Six public holidays … in Great Britain.

a. are celebrated b. are celebrating c. are celebrate

C 23. There … a lot of snow in January.

a. are b. is c. be

C 24. I would like … salt on my vegetables.

a. a little b. a few c. fewer

C 25. When I came home, my brother … to the cinema already.

a. went b. has gone c. had gone

C 26. I’m late for classes … I’ve missed the train.

a. because b. that’s why c. otherwise

C 27. John speaks French … I do.

a. more fluent than b. more fluently than c. more fluently as

IV. Writing. D